Today, despite a growing interest in clean nutrition, more than 56% of U.S. and U.K. consumers’ daily caloric intake still comes from ultra-processed foods1. People want to eat better. You can help them get there.
At Chaucer Foods, our R&D team regularly hears how our clients struggle to keep their customers’ interest, even when focusing on the trends they say they want. Innovative clean label products are tricky to get right — especially when every competing brand is fighting for the same shelf space. With nearly two-thirds of consumers willing to switch to another food product if they understood the ingredients in it1, this is an industry-wide battle that your business can’t afford to lose.
Today, despite a growing interest in clean nutrition, more than 56% of U.S. and U.K. consumers’ daily caloric intake still comes from ultra-processed foods1. People want to eat better. You can help them get there.
1. Recognizable Plants
Many consumers who want to eat more recognizable foods are turning to plant-based products with the assumption that it’s cleaner. However, many plant-based products contain more than 50 chemical ingredients1—far from clean label standards. To appeal to the 63% of plant-based consumers looking to purchase less processed foods1, formulators can harness the power of natural ingredients to produce their clean label offerings. When made with natural ingredients, like freeze-dried beets, formulators can mimic the appearance of meat products, without the unappealing laundry list of ingredients.
2. Clean Candy
Most parents view candy as a treat and make exceptions for the sugar content and artificial ingredients, but they still prefer clean label candies2. As picky as kids may be, most don’t mind if their candy comes from fruits and vegetables as long as the flavors and colors are similar to traditional candy3. Formulating with Chaucer’s freeze-dried powders provide not only the sweet taste and bold color kids want, but also keep the mixture recognizable for their parent’s preference.
3. Infused Tea Bag, Mixed Berry, Lavender & Rose
Often overlooked, many sauces found in supermarkets have a long list of additives that consumers prefer to avoid. With nearly 94% of adult consumers enjoying dips and sauces4, and a projected market growth rate of 5.55% by 20305, the innovation potential for clean label sauces is only going to increase. Our freeze-drying process allows the ingredients to retain their natural color and flavor, making them the ideal addition to a clean label, yet delicious, taste that consumers will want to douse and dip their food in.
Consumers want to incorporate clean versions of alt-meats, candies and sauces into their diet, and you can help them find the right options by innovating a range of tasty clean label products to choose from. By including Chaucer’s recognizable freeze-dried ingredients to meet your customer’s taste and appearance demands, you’ll be able to take clean label innovation to the next level and help everyone attain their personal health and wellness goals.
Want to learn about more innovative formulation strategies that will impact clean label trends? Check out our recent conversation with Kathy De La Bastide, Research and Development Manager at Chaucer Foods, for ways to remain innovative in a competitive market.
References:
“The Plant Revolution: Clean Label Foods Need to Be The Norm, Not the Exception,” Vegconomist. May 2022.
“Candy is candy: Why natural colors aren’t a deal-breaker for kids,”Confectionerynews.com. 2018.
“Shattering preconceptions: What kids and moms really think about color in candy,” Food & Beverage Insider. 2019.
“Premium Taste, Without the Premium: How Flavor Technology is Adding Value to Dips & Sauces,” Food Navigator-USA. July 2022.
“Sauces Market Research Report,” Market Research Future. October 2022.